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South Jeffco residents grilled the county commissioners at an Oct. 20 citizen-input meeting over numerous hot-button issues, with a particular emphasis on library funding and efforts to create an independent library district.

Following the commissioners’ presentation about county topics, residents also expressed ire about the construction of the large pedestrian bridge at Wadsworth and Bowles, the county’s dissolution of its audit committee and RTD’s pending cuts to local bus routes.

The Foothills Park & Recreation District board approved the sale Oct. 25 of two open-space parcels at Wadsworth and Coal Mine, a deal that will raise $1.5 million but has enraged neighboring homeowners.

Sid Broadbent’s ice skates went out from under him during a session at the old University of Denver ice rink in 1977, resulting in a broken bone and ultimately a hip replacement — a life-changing injury he blames entirely on a botched blade sharpening.

In that same year, Broadbent, who was then designing solar cells for Martin Marietta, began pouring decades of engineering expertise into an invention that would help prevent other skaters from suffering the same fate.

The public will be charged for access to public records under a resolution passed unanimously Tuesday by the county commissioners.

Under the measure the county will implement fees of $25 per hour for open-records requests taking more than an hour to complete.

The public information office, whose employees are tasked with fulfilling such requests, now hasthe option of not charging the public for its staff time, though language in the resolution allows charges at the office’s discretion.

The RTD board of directors is poised to retain peak-hour bus service on the 401 route, after scores of South Jeffco residents who use the service to get to work complained when the route was put on a list for elimination.

The board is slated to approve on Tuesday evening more than $10 million in service cuts to begin Jan. 8, an amount down from an original proposal of about $13 million.

The Jefferson County commissioners are poised to begin charging the public for access to public records, with a consent-agenda resolution scheduled to be passed Tuesday.

If approved, the measure would allow the county to charge $25 per hour for open-records requests taking more than an hour to complete.

The public information office, whose employees are tasked with fulfilling such requests, would have the option of not charging the public for its staff time, though language in the proposed resolution would allow charges at the office’s discretion.

Habitat for Humanity plans to open a 26,000-square-foot home-improvement store Nov. 4 near South Jeffco, targeting thrifty consumers as a base to help fund its charitable homebuilding programs.
The store, which will carry used fixtures, furniture and other discount remodeling products, is the third to be established in the metro area. The new store will be at 7900 W. Quincy Ave., and the other two ReStore outlets are in Denver and Wheat Ridge.

The Jefferson County district attorney’s office filed a motion last week in an attempt to recoup nearly $90,000 in prosecution costs from Deer Creek Middle School gunman Bruco Eastwood.

State law allows prosecutors to recover court costs from defendants who are found guilty, including large payments made to expert witnesses such as forensic psychiatrist Dr. Steven Pitt, to whom the district attorney’s office paid more than $67,000 — prior to the trial.

The Foothills Park & Recreation District board tabled a decision Oct. 11 on accepting nearly $2 million for the sale of four plots of open space, after dozens of Woodmar neighborhood residents objected to the prospect.

The district, which placed six large parcels totaling about 30 acres on the market in February, has been planning to the sell the land as a means to cover projected budget shortfalls in the coming years. It estimates it will garner $4 million from all of the sales.